What Do You Believe About Stress?

It has been repeated so often by so many in various ways, “Stress is bad for the body!” I have talked often about my stress; how tight my muscles get, how it depletes my energy and limits my thinking. I have listened to others tell me about their stress. It is almost a national pastime. I have encouraged others to explore healthy ways to reduce and release their stress. It turns out though, upon further reflection and research, stress is not always bad and has a definite upside. 

Survey Says 

Ask yourself this question: How much stress have I experienced recently? A little bit, a moderate amount, or a lot of stress? Pause for a second to tune inside your body and find the answer that matches your felt perception best. The perception of stress as a having a bad impact on your life may be doing more harm than the stress itself. In an eight-year study involving around 30,000 adults in the United States, the group of people who reported experiencing a lot of stress and believed stress is bad experienced a 43% higher risk of death than other groups. The group that experienced the lowest risk of death was people who reported experiencing a lot of stress and believed stress is not always bad and sometimes can be good. Their risk was even lower than those who said they experienced a little bit of stress.

What Thought is Showing Up?

If I perceive my life as stressful and I think stress is bad, I am probably likely to suffer emotional anguish as well as physical ailments such as soreness, fatigue, headaches, etc.  If, on the other hand, I perceive my life as stressful and I do not have much judgment about it or even think it helps me, I am probably likely to suffer less emotional angst and maybe less physical distress as well. 

Turn a Thought Upside Down 

Wayne Dyer, author, philosopher and motivational speaker has said “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” When we change the way we think about our own stress, the way our body responds to that stress changes. 

The Body Knows What To Do 

What do you notice on the inside when you are aware that you are stressed? Many people say they feel their heart beating fast—“like it’s gonna jump out of my chest”. I have heard, “It’s hard to catch my breath.”, “My body gets shaky.”, “I get sweaty armpits.”, “I feel like running out of the room as fast as I can.” All of these responses that we typically call stress can be perceived differently. The pounding heart is providing abundant energy; the quick and shallow breathing makes lots of oxygen available to the muscles to activate and prepare for quick movements. The sweating that happens under emotional duress is thought to improve our traction and grip, cool the body and send out pheromone signals. All this body wisdom looks a lot like what happens when we experience joy, excitement, strength and courage. When you notice your body sending messages in the form of sensation, slow down and observe. Ask, “What are you trying to teach me?” 

Belief and Biology  

Having the thought, “This is my body helping me to gather all my resources to meet this challenge.” can be an empowering perspective and may foster courage rather than distress. What goes on in the brain is believed by the body, whether it is actually happening or not. When I watch a movie and what I see is the actor teetering on the edge of a building with the traffic rushing below and the wind whistling around, I know I am not actually on the window ledge striving to find balance but my hands get sweaty, my heart beats fast and I feel like gripping my chair for security. My body believes what I imagine. In that moment, I can believe I am stressed and begin to feel uncomfortable gripping inside, or I can trust that my body is working well to meet life’s challenges and take a deep breath saying a silent thanks and soften the tension inside. The body responds wisely and I may choose what to believe about that. 

A Hormonal Cocktail 

The cuddle hormone called oxytocin gets a lot of attention for being one of those feel-good hormones that act as a neuro-transmitter in the brain.  It appears to be connected to human emotion, childbirth, breastfeeding and bonding. It fine- tunes the brain toward empathy to help and support folks we care about. Here is the surprise: It is also a part of the stress response cocktail of hormones including adrenaline, cortisol and norepinephrine. When the body is flooded with stress hormones, including the love hormone oxytocin, it not only prepares us to rise to the challenge, it prepares us to seek support as well. Within the brilliant design of the body under stress, oxytocin helps maintain equanimity by protecting the heart. It keeps blood vessels around the heart open and seems to promote socialization. In that genius process, the desire to seek, reach and respond to social support is heightened. So, the next time you are aware of that old familiar companion named stress, you might just remember there is something big to appreciate about it: The stress response also provides a mechanism for stress resilience as well.  

Help Me Now 

What I know helps me through a difficult time is to reflect on its larger meaning rather than seeking comfort from it. Healing may occur in the quest for meaning rather than the search for comfort. It is not easy but it might help to frame it this way, “Thanks stress for showing up, you’ve got my attention, what are you here to teach me?”